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Employment Trends | Skills
for Success
Careers in
Fashion | Corporate Fashion
Fashion Design
Career opportunities abound in Fashion Design! The industry is large
and growing because Americans spend a respectable amount of their budget
on clothing. Employment is expected to increase an average of 6 percent
through 2014.
Key positions and median incomes in the Fashion Design industry are Fashion Designer, $46,000; Assistant Designer, $38,500; Technical Designer, Apparel; $47,500; and Pattern Maker, $24,000.
Fashion Merchandising
Employment opportunities in Fashion Merchandising are expected to increase
an average of 9 to 17 percent through 2014.
Careers in this field are many. Key employment opportunities and the accompanying median incomes include Buyer, $42,000; Sales Representative, $41,000; Sales Management, $31,000; Special Event Planner, $43,000; and Visual Merchandiser, $26,000.
Fashion Design
Employees in this industry will need these attributes:
• A strong sense of fashion trends
• Be highly organized and flexible
• Work well and effectively under pressure
• Possess creative and artistic skills
• The ability to communicate effectively
Fashion Merchandising
Employees in this industry will need these attributes:
• The ability to communicate effectively
• Effective listening skills
• An eye for fashion trends and their influences
• Contemporary marketing knowledge
• High energy level
• Leadership ability
• Attention to detail
Fashion is everywhere, and so are career opportunities for individuals who combine a knowledge of the fashion business with their own talents, ambitions and abilities. The fashion industry provides a wide spectrum of career choices, from raw materials to the final consumer purchase: stores, mail-order houses, other forms of retailing, manufacturing, advertising, newspapers, magazines, commercial photography, public relations and other creative areas.
• Fashion
Design Graduates
• Textile/Surface Design Graduates
• Fashion Buying and Merchandising
• Fashion in Stores
• Fashion Merchandising with Manufacturers
• Apparel Production
• Textile Development
Entry-Level Jobs for Fashion Design
Graduates
• Assistant
Designer
• Cutting
Assistant
• Sketching
Assistant
• Sketcher
-- Assistant to the Designer
• Stylist
• Junior
Designer
Skills: Well-organized, flexible, fast- working; ability to work under pressure;
good eye for trends in silhouette, color and fabric; ability to analyze trends
for customers; garment construction, computer drafting and technical skills,
pattern making, draping and sketching.
Entry-Level Jobs for Textile/Surface
Design Graduates
• Textile-Surface
Designer
• Colorist
• Assistant
Stylist
• Screen
Print Artist
• Woven
Fabric Designer
• Knit
Designer
Skills: Initiative, reliability, following instructions, meeting deadlines,
versatile portfolio, extensive art background, art and costume history,
color and design courses, textile science courses, illustration, strong
computer design skills.
Entry-Level Jobs for Fashion Buying
and Merchandising
• Management
Trainee
• Department
Manager
• Assistant
Store Manager
• Associate
Buyer
• Assistant
Buyer
• Distribution
Planner
• Product
Development Trainee
• Store
Operations
• Mall
Management
Skills: Analytical ability, computer skills, strong communication skills,
leadership ability, initiative, high degree of motivation and energy,
maturity, fashionable appearance. High grade point average in math,
business math, accounting, management, marketing, business, fashion
marketing, fashion history, psychology of fashion, textiles, design
principles.
Entry-Level Positions for Fashion in
Stores
• Assistant
to Fashion Director
• Special
Events Planning
• Visual
Merchandising Team
• Personal
Shopper
• Sales
Associate
Skills: Good eye for trends and coordinating trends, great communication
skills, ability to work with store policies and management, flexible,
creative, fashion merchandising, textiles, product knowledge, fashion
history, psychology of fashion, color and design, advertising, public
relations.
Entry-Level Positions
for Fashion Merchandising with Manufacturers
• Showroom
Sales Trainee
• Showroom
Receptionist
• Clerical
Assistant
• Product
Development
• Retail
Sales Coordinator
• Merchandising
Assistant
• Assistant
Piece Goods and Trim Buyer
• Production
Assistant
• Administrative
Assistant
Skills: Assertive, excellent communication skills, computer skills,
high level of organization, sales experience, broad range of courses
which will enhance specific jobs, knowledge of fashion merchandising,
trend analysis, management, retail math, textiles, color and design,
fashion history and psychology of fashion.
Entry-Level Position for Apparel
Production
• Production
Control Assistant
• Import
Coordinator
• Junior
Industrial Engineer
• Costing
Analyst
• Quality
Control Specialist
• Assistant
Plant Manager
Skills: Organizational skills, quantitative aptitude, computer skills,
accuracy, thoroughness, assertiveness, detail oriented, problem-solving
ability, multi-cultural training, bilingual, understanding of textiles
and apparel in the global economy, good mathematical skills, knowledge
of construction and contemporary processes of cutting, pattern making
and construction.
Entry-Level Position for
Textile Development
• Assistant
Converter
• Assistant
Fabric or Yarn Stylist
• Product
Development Specialist
• Textile
Technology
• Sales
Trainee
• Fabric
Librarian
Skills: Detail - oriented, ability to analyze color and fashion trends,
communication skills, computer skills, textiles, specialty courses
in textile manufacturing, design courses, fashion and art history.
Don't Forget!
Magazine Editors, Writers, Costume Designers and Media Stylists, Photographers...
Fashion careers are everywhere!
Sharon
Scalise,
program coordinator
Fashion
Merchandising and Design
AC 250A
(630) 942-2619
e-mail
